The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 11 – Forwards

Having broken down all the changes on our Watchlist, which offers player recommendations for the next four to six rounds of fixtures, among the defence and midfield over the past two days, this afternoon we turn our attention to the forwards. Tottenham’s Harry Kane is the big mover following his hat-trick against Bournemouth, while Romelu Lukaku is also on the rise due to Everton’s great run of fixtures.

After scoring in his seventh consecutive match, Leicester’s Jamie Vardy remains at the summit in our latest refresh. The England international, whose price has risen to 7.2 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), leads all forwards for shots in the box with 20 over the last four Gameweeks, and with two favourable match-ups (wba, WAT, new) in the next three, he should be able to continue his red-hot form. After that, though, we could see a regression in his output, with the Foxes’ schedule (MUN, swa, CHE) beginning to stiffen up.

While he hasn’t bagged any attacking points in the last two Gameweeks, Southampton’s Graziano Pelle keeps his spot towards the top of our rankings. The 8.4-priced Italian international has also worryingly only managed to register two of his last 13 goal attempts on target over the last four Gameweeks, but with the Saints’ upcoming schedule (BOU, sun, STO, mci, AVL, cpl) so favourable, the former Feyenoord striker should soon be back amongst the goals.

Having scored five goals and grabbed two assists in what has undoubtedly been a difficult fixture list for Everton over the opening ten Gameweeks, Romelu Lukaku looks primed to feast on the far easier schedule (SUN, whm, AVL, bou, CPL, nor) coming up. The 8.4-valued striker has managed a respectable nine shots from inside the box in some difficult match-ups in his last four outings, and looks a really strong contender for one of our three forward slots over the next few months.

On the back of his hat-trick against Bournemouth, Tottenham’s Harry Kane is the most transferred-in player this week in FPL. The England man looks to have regained his confidence in front of goal, and has four home matches (AVL, ars, WHM, CHE, wba, NEW) over the next six Gameweeks in which to kick on. The 9.3-rated forward has also encouragingly registered 12 of his 16 goal attempts on target over the last four Gameweeks.

With favourable match-ups at home to Norwich and away to Aston Villa over the next two Gameweeks, Man City’s Wilfried Bony keeps his place on our ladder. The Ivorian’s prospects are very much short-term, with Sergio Aguero expected to return towards the end of November, but with the former Swansea striker setting us back just 8.3 in FPL, there’s little doubt he should deliver excellent value in the Argentine’s absence. The impressive performance of Kelechi Iheanacho against Crystal Palace in midweek is a slight concern though, with the Nigerian possibly pushing for minutes off the bench.

Watford’s Odion Ighalo rises this week after providing two assists in the Hornets’ impressive 2-0 victory at Stoke last weekend. The 5.4-priced front man has scored 52 points in FPL so far this season, the third highest total among forwards, and with many Fantasy managers looking to play with a 3-5-2 formation, the former Udinese striker offers a perfect solution as a third forward who can be easily benched in unfavourable match-ups. Watford’s upcoming schedule (WHM, lei, MUN, avl, NOR, sun) is pretty promising, though, so the risk of leaving points on the bench is always a possibility.

After finding the back of the net against Everton in Gameweek 10, and with Theo Walcott picking up a calf injury against Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud is emerging as a viable option once again. The France international has remarkably scored four goals in his last six appearances, despite starting just one of those matches, and coming in at 8.7 in FPL, is very favourably priced. The Gunners’ fixtures over the next month or so (swa, TOT, wba, nor, SUN, avl) are also very reasonable, and with Walcott ruled out until after the next month’s international break, the 6%-owned former Montpellier striker could be worth a roll of the dice.

The only significant faller in our latest update in Man United’s Anthony Martial. The 19-year-old has blanked in his last three appearances, and has only managed three goal attempts over that period. Part of the reason has been Louis van Gaal’s decision to play him wide on the left in the last two matches, but with Wayne Rooney still not firing on all cylinders, we could yet see the Frenchman return to the central striker role. Should that be the case, United’s fixture list over the next six Gameweeks (cpl, WBA, wat, lei, WHM, bou) could yet see the 8.3-valued forward re-emerge as one of the most appealing options for our three-man frontlines.

Diego Costa remains towards the bottom of our ladder, with the Chelsea striker facing a late fitness test for Saturday’s home clash against Liverpool after picking up a rib injury against Stoke in midweek. The 11.1-rated forward remains in our thoughts given how favourable the Blues’ upcoming schedule (sto, NOR, tot, BOU, lei) is, but, even if fit, the Blues’ poor form suggests there are stronger options currently available to Fantasy managers.

Newcastle’s Aleksandar Mitrovic is another non-mover. The Serbian’s prospects still pretty bright, particularly in the short-term given the fixtures (STO, bou, LEI, cpl) on the horizon for the Magpies. The 6.2-priced forward has chalked up 11 shots from inside the box in his last four appearances, comparable to many of the names further up our ladder, and is an obvious differential candidate, with his ownership in FPL currently just 1.2%.

Christian Benteke has shrugged off a knee injury in time to face Chelsea on Saturday and makes his way back onto the Watchlist. The Liverpool striker scored his third goal of the campaign as a substitute against Southampton, and while the Reds face some testing fixtures (che, CPL, mci) in the short term, the schedule does turn more favourable from Gameweek 14 onwards (SWA, new, WBA). It remains unlikely that we’ll be prepared to take a gamble on the 8.2-valued target man right now, with the likes of Pelle, Bony, Lukaku and Kane all looking likely to outscore the Liverpool man over the next couple of weeks.

Although Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gomis is in the midst of a six-match goal drought, favourable fixtures against Norwich and Bournemouth in the next six (ARS, nor, BOU, liv, LEI, mci) mean he clings onto a place at the foot of our rankings. The former Lyon striker has dropped to 6.9 in FPL, having peaked at a price of 7.5 in Gameweek 6, and could punish those who have transferred him out in those two clashes against the newly promoted sides.